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How to reduce desertification - Coggle Diagram
How to reduce desertification
Green wall in the Sahel region of Africa
A 'wall' of trees 7 km / 5 miles long
Jobs created to plant the trees
By adding more trees there is an increase in evapotranspiration, which brings more precipitation for the area.
The shade created by the trees allows women to plant crops like peppers and sell them at market.
The roots of the trees bind the soil and hold it together. They make sure nutrients are not lost and are taken up by the trees.
Drought resistant Acacia trees to survive the low rainfall environment
Trees hold water in ground and previously dry wells are able to fill up
Drip irrigation
Pipes lie along the ground and water slowly drips out of it.
Crops get exactly the water they need.
Minimal water is wasted because less evaporates when compared to regular irrigation
Zai pits
Old intermediate technology, planting crops in a hole in the ground
The hole attracts water and retains it as well as helping reduce soil erosion
Farmers in low rainfall areas get a more reliable crop yield and earn a steady income
Water desalination
The Earth has about 366 billion billion gallons of water on it
However 96.5% of that water is in oceans, which contain salt and humans cannot drink it
Most freshwater is stuck in glaciers or underground, less than 1% of that freshwater is available for us
Today 1/3 people don't have access to safe drinking water
Thermal desalination
Boiling saltwater and capturing steam to turn it into freshwater
Reverse Osmosis
Doesn't heat and no boiling occurs
Process involves exerting a high pressure on saltwater and forcing it through a membrane
Ocean water desalination can be 25x as energy intensive as other freshwater sources
Desalinated water in Carlsbad, California costs twice as much as imported water
Brine as a byproduct
Desalination doesn't just produce freshwater it also produces extremely salty water called brine.
Most Reverse Osmosis plants have a 50% efficiency of producing saltwater, meaning 2 gallons of seawater produces 1 gallon of freshwater and 1 gallon of brine.
Most of it is dumped in the ocean and because it is extremely concentrated it sinks to the bottom. This harms plants and animals on the sea floor.
For every 1 gallon of desalinated water we produce 1.5 gallons of brine, essentially more brine is being produced than clean water.
High energy cost and impact
Intake of water also harms marine life as millions of gallons of water are taken into desal plants each day
Desalination uses a lot of energy